Cycling in Headington
The best way of travelling from Headington to Oxford is by bicycle. The quickest and most obvious way is to go straight down Headington Hill, but this is not a very pleasant or safe route, and alternatives are suggested below. For those that can’t cope with the gradient on the way back up, Morrell Avenue is more manageable.
Left: Always lock your bike in Headington, but not just by its front wheel.
If your bike gets stolen or lost, simply email the East Oxford Bike database providing details about the cycle including frame number, colour, make and any distinguishing features. The details will be added to a local police database, and when the police stop a thief on a cycle they will check the details against the database.
Oxford City Council:Report abandoned bicycles online
Headington PC Chris Miles give advice on You-Tube on how to prevent your bike from being stolen:
Cycle track through the University Parks
This is a longer but much more pleasant alternative route from Headington to Oxford, finishing up in South Parks Road. This track starts at the bottom of Ferry Road (off the Marston Road), and there are various ways of getting there, depending on your starting point in Headington. Here are three suggested routes:
- From Old Headington: go via Dunstan Road, Saxon Way, and Copse Lane;
- From Sandfield Road: go via Staunton Road, which crosses the Marston Ferry Road and leads straight into the east-west stretch of Jack Straw’s Lane that emerges into the Marston Road (see map).
- From the Headington Road: Cuckoo Lane is a footpath and very narrow behind Headington Hill Hall, so should be avoided; but there is a lane beside Pollock House that leads into John Garne Way.
The Cycle Track and Mesopotamia are always CLOSED on 25 December and 1 January (even though the Parks are open) to prevent the routes, which belong to the University, becoming rights of way.
University Parks cycle track flooding: This give information on the current state of the track. Note that if there are no recent messages, everything is probably perfectly all right: there are usually only problems at the beginning of the year.
Short cycle track through the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
This short piece of track avoids the perils of Windmill Road and could even save you a few minutes
Cycle track from Cherwell Drive to Summertown
This is the best way to reach Summertown. Cycle down Headley Way, and when it becomes Cherwell Drive there is cycle track all the way.
Further afield
From the Green Road roundabout, there is a two-way cycle track in three directions:
- Along the eastern bypass towards Cowley
Also easy to access from Headington Quarry - Along
the northern bypass towards the north Oxford roundabout
Also easy to accessed from the end of Barton Road or from Marsh Lane. (If you don’t mind pushing your bike a short distance along a quiet and sometimes muddy footpath, the prettiest way to the northern bypass is from Stoke Place in Old Headington, via the public right of way to Elsfield.)
Unless you have powerful lights, avoid this route at night: it is extremely dark. - Along the London
Road towards Wheatley
This starts at the Green Road roundabout. Don’t attempt to cycle around the roundabout: wheel your bike through the subway.
Both bus companies to London are able to carry up to two bikes in their luggage compartment underneath the bus: check first, and there may be a charge.
Local cycling links
- Oxcycle: Oxfordshire’s Bicycle Users Group’s website
- Cyclox: Oxford pro-cycling campaign
- County council information for cyclists in Oxford, including cyle shops and cycle maps:
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cycling
Repairs
- Although the G.H. Williams has closed, Bob Williams is still doing repairs from home: tel. 01865 762664 or mobile 07962 896663 (strongly recommended, but repairs cannot always be done immediately)
- “Bike Recycling” at 9A Windmill Road does repairs as well as selling recycled bikes
- The “Bike Doctor” no longer operates, as Oxford Cycle Workshop has ceased trading. But Oxford Mobile Cycle Repairs Ltd are running a similar scheme, operating in Headington at Oxford Brookes University, the Churchill Hospital, and the Weatherall Institute, and in Oxford at the University Club. Further information
- There is a commercial mobile cycle repair service based in Oxford called Back on Trax: they will come to you to do the repair.
Notes
- The county council is responsible for the maintenance of all cycle lanes that are painted green. These are are only found on major roads such as the Headington/London Road. Problems: email Ashley Prior
- The city council is responsible for the maintenance of all uncoloured cycle lanes on minor roads, as well as dedicated cycle tracks. Problems: email A. Burchett
- The city council is responsible for the cleaning of all cycle lanes: telephone their Cleansing Service Division, 01865 725912
- Both types of cycle lane can be either mandatory (solid white line) or discretionary (broken white line). Beware of the latter, as not all of them have double-yellow lines, so that parking is often allowed in them at night (e.g. in Kennett Road). Even when discretionary cycle-lanes do have double-yellow lines, cars and buses are allowed to drive in them.
Below
Two occasional perils of the cycle track through the Parks:
